Rajasthan Premises (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1950 – s. 13(1) & (3) and s.19A – Eviction of tenant on the ground of non-payment of rent – Fixation of provisional rent – Mandatory or directory – Held: Use of the word ‘shall’ in s.13(3) makes it mandatory on the court to fix provisional rent within three months of the filing of the written statement but before framing of the issues, irrespective of any application or not – If the rent so determined by the court is paid by the tenant as provided u/s. 13(4), no decree for eviction of the tenant can be passed on the ground of default, in view of s. 13(6) – Thus, compliance of s.13(3) is mandatory in the suit for eviction on the ground of default – Rent Control and Eviction.
Dismissing the appeal, the Court –
HELD: It is evident from Section 13(3) of the Rajasthan Premises (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1950 that the use of the word ‘shall’ puts a mandatory obligation on the court to fix provisional rent within three months of the filing of the written statement but before framing of the issues, irrespective of any application or not. If the rent so determined by the court is paid by the tenant as provided under Section 13(4), no decree for eviction of the tenant can be passed on the ground of default under Section 13(1)(a) in view of Section 13(6) of the Act. It is thus, clear that unless the determination under Section 13(3) takes place, s. 13(6) cannot be complied with and a valuable right given to a tenant would be lost. The High Court rightly held s. 13(3) to be mandatory. [Para 14] [75-D-F]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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